Turkey may be model in geothermal energy
by Ekrem Ekici
by Ekrem Ekici
Cooperating with the World Bank Partership International, which provides regulatory, institutional, technical and financial advice to clients on infrastructure investment projects, the workshop focuses on attracting investor attention in geothermal energy in Europe and Central Asia, as part of the World Bank’s Geothermal Energy Development Program, or GeoFund.
Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Partnership International Vice President Tracy Mathieu said the workshop aimed to contribute to the development of geothermal projects in Turkey, as well as centralizing the country as a model for the region by bringing government officials and international investors together.
Promoting Turkey’s potential
"Through the Geothermal Workshop our goal is to present attendees with methods to develop a project, carry out financial analysis and economic modeling, prepare winning proposals to the GeoFund for explorations and drilling and secure international financial resources," Mathieu said.
"If Turkish companies worked with international partners it would be a lot easier to access funding for their renewable energy projects. The workshop is fully oriented to promote Turkey’s potential in geothermal energy and to attract investors," she said.
The GeoFund is an umbrella program to facilitate individual geothermal projects in the region, Mathieu said. "The World Bank's GeoFund Geothermal Workshop’s goal is to systematically promote the use of geothermal energy in the region by removing barriers to the development of geothermal renewable energy, leading to greater use and increase in demand for, and supply of, geothermal energy projects," she said.
"The workshop will be directed toward high-level energy officials, developers and financiers. It will look into enabling geothermal development by bring together decision-makers with leaders in geothermal industry and finance."
The goal of the workshop is for energy officials and businesses to enable geothermal development via private sector financing and introduce the GeoFund as a complementary supporting tool.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/10999635.asp?gid=236
